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Elk Encounters
Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: 2016/12 - December | Photograph By: Bob Trevathan
He’s not Rudolph, though he is a distant cousin. He’s made several guest appearances on our ridge.
North Carolina Wildlife Biologist Justin McVey has identified our almost half-ton visitor as a young elk bull.
Why is he stopping by? Is he auditioning for a guest spot for Santa’s sleigh? Nope. He’s doing what any young fella would do…he’s looking for love.
A decade and a half ago, 52 elk from Canada’s Elk Island and Land Between the Lakes arrived in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park where an elk zone was established. Since then their population has tripled. Now some of the maturing males are roving the countryside, checking out prospects for females and food. Even though they have made it as far as Georgia and Tennessee, they will return to their home territory in Haywood County and the Cherokee land.
When you spot an elk it’s tempting to offer it a snack, but McVey warns, “Keep your distance and do not feed the elk! Although they seem approachable, people need to realize that it is an 800-pound wild animal and should be respected as such.”
It’s best to do your elk encounters with a camera …and a telephoto lens.
Speaking of cameras, Cynthia Strain, owner of Mill Creek Gallery and Framing, has kept a written/photographic elk log.
“The first sighting was on September 15 when a woman photographed a young bull elk in her Satolah, Georgia, yard,” she says. She cited other encounters by Bob Trevathan at HFCC. Mary Abranyi and Ellie Hogan had separate viewings in Horse Cove. Others saw an elk at Lake Toxaway and Lake Glenville. Even folks from Penland and Franklin posted elk photos on Facebook.
If you want to see an elk, Cataloochee is your best bet. Contact Great Smoky Mountain National Park at (865) 436-1200 for more details.
In the meantime, should you see an ill or injured elk, call McVey, District 9 Biologist, Division of Wildlife Management at (828) 273-7980. To learn more about elk and other North Carolina wildlife, visit ncwildlife.org.
And even though elk and reindeer are both in the family Cervidae along with white-tailed deer, moose, etc., Rudolph can relax. His elk cousin can’t fly.
This just in — Justin says, “The bull is now enjoying the fall at Lake Jocassee in South Carolina. I’ve seen all the pics and looks like the same bull because of antler shapes and some identical scrapes on his sides.”
